Annan all set for the weekend kick-off
All the hard work of the last six weeks will finally be put to the test this weekend when we travel to face Stenhousemuir in the .
This is what the lads have been working towards all summer and a run similar to last year's when we lost out to Dundee in the semi-final would do nicely.
However, we're certainly not taking anything for granted and we face a very difficult task in even reaching the second round.
All four matches against Stenny in our SFL debut season were tight affairs with two draws at Ochilview and I'm sure Saturday will be similar.
Our pre-season matches have possibly gone better than expected with our only defeat coming against our First Division neighbours Queen of the South.
We wrapped things up over the weekend with victories over Ayr United (4-0) and Airdrie (4-3) to finish the tough schedule on a very positive note.
We played two very different teams in the games and I'm sure the performances pleased the manager considering the amount of changes that were made. I wasn't involved on Sunday but I think Saturday would have been enough for most of us anyway; it's not that often you will see three red cards in a pre-season friendly!
People would maybe expect that it was a dirty match but it was far from it. There were a couple of tackles flying in but you expect that and there was certainly nothing too outrageous.
The red cards obviously spoiled the game and the second half was a bit of a non-event when it came to ten versus nine. There was so much going on during the break that it's the first I've been involved in without a team talk.
We just had to try and be professional and we went on to add a further two goals to enhance our 2-0 half-time lead.
We scored some good goals over the weekend and while it was more important to get the fitness levels up, once again that was a definite positive for us.
We have taken some stick over the two seasons about not being too pretty in terms of our football, but we have been constantly working on things to improve that over the summer and I'm sure we will be easier on the eye this season.
Our striking options are reduced at the minute for various reasons and the players available to us are all similar so we really need to be keeping the ball down and getting it in to their feet.
The club have recently secured young so that will ease the pressure on Pat Walker and David Cox; who have been our only signed players available in the forward position.
Jordan Halsman has also joined from Motherwell on a six-month loan and he will add competition to the left hand side of the team. We now have Andy Aitken, Jordan and Steven that are left-footed players after sometimes playing without any at times during games last season.
I can probably add Coxy to that list even though he's convinced he can play with either foot!
So, the club have been busy recruiting players recently and I'm almost certain there will be more to come. The squad is taking shape and we will have good, healthy competition for every department once everyone is fit and well.
I was a little bit worried by the chairman's comments recently as I felt that our squad was a little short in terms of numbers to be thinking about promotion but I'm certainly more comfortable with his ambitions as things currently stand.
This will be our third season in the SFL and after last year's disappointing finish it is time for us to stand up and be counted.
Once we get to the end of August we would hope to have the likes of Graeme Bell back and another one or two further signings in and we should be in a position to do just that. You never know we might even have someone else in by the time you read this column...
Hi there, I'm Chris Jardine, midfielder with Scottish Third Division side Annan Athletic. I hope, throughout the season, I can give you a good insight into life at the newest Scottish League club and maybe even a few laughs along the way.
Comment number 1.
At 22nd Jul 2010, U14560718 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 25th Jul 2010, daib0 wrote:good try ... and good luck for the season
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Comment number 3.
At 26th Jul 2010, Martin Hawkins wrote:As a St Johnstone fans with no game to go to at the weekend I chose to come along to your game and Annan did try a passing game for long periods of time. I know football is a game of ifs, but if your shot had gone in at 1-0 it could have been a different game. In the end a bad 5 minutes cost your team a place in the last 16 despite the great late come back. I honestly thought that header in injury time was going in.
Having seen Arbroath this week as well they do look a very strong side with some very skillful players, Who do you see as the main contenders this season?
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Comment number 4.
At 26th Jul 2010, Chris Jardine wrote:jeanfield_swifts - decent assessment of things I reckon. Even if we had gone in at 1-0 down we had a chance but those 2 goals were very disappointing from our point of view amd it was game over at half-time.
As for Arbroath - I have noticed that they have signed a decent few players since Paul Sheerin came in and they should obviously be one of the favourites after coming down from the second division.
Clyde have made a lot of signings too and I make them favourites to win the league and Queens Park will also benefit from last year's experience.
I would hope that we will be in the mix ourselves.
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